


And In the Aftermath

by Dearest_Solitude



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence - The Rise of Skywalker, Communication, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Happy Ending, Living Together, New Relationship, Nonverbal Communication, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Political Unrest, Post-War, Rating May Change, Soulmates, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, TROS Fix-It Fic, Uncertainty, War Aftermath, aside from you know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:53:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearest_Solitude/pseuds/Dearest_Solitude
Summary: !!!CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE RISE OF SKYWALKER!!!Rey catches Ben as he falls, her own battered body screaming out in protest under this new weight. “Ben—” His name dies in her throat and she tastes ash on her tongue as she feels  his life force flickering in and out of her perception. Panic floods her, threatening to overtake her battered body, but she clenches her teeth and forces in a breath.He’s not dead. Not yet.(A fix-it fic exploring new love and the aftermath of a galactic war.)
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64





	And In the Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains spoilers from The Rise of Skywalker, so if you haven't see it, please be wary. Please enjoy the first chapter of my attempt at a fix-it fic! I should let you know, I don't love this title so I may change it if I come up with something I like better. This fic is unbetaed, so any mistakes are my own. Hope you like it! Edit 1/15/20: I was emotional after seeing tros, and posted this fic a little prematurely. I am certainly going to be continuing it soon, but first I am working on a more comprehensive outline before I update again. Thank you for your patience.

_x. “You are the hole in my head. You are the space in my bed. You are the silence in between what I thought and I said.”_

_— No Light, No Light by Florence and the Machine_

Rey catches Ben as he falls, her own battered body screaming out in protest under this new weight. “Ben—” His name dies in her throat and she tastes ash on her tongue as she feels his life force flickering in and out of her perception. Panic floods her, threatening to overtake her, but she clenches her teeth and forces in a breath.

He’s not dead. Not yet.

Her powers and her body are spent, yet she drags him, arms hooked under his, across the ruined temple. Blood trickles from her nose, splattering onto the floor where it is smeared into the dirt by her feet and Ben’s body. The sith throne is gone, the stadium is gone, every living thing aside from Ben and Rey is gone, crushed under colossal piece of falling stone or, above them, burned away by the rebels who have since departed triumphant. There is no one to help her. Rey is alone.

She tries her best to ignore the red-brown liquid she sees trickling into the stadium floor. She felt their deaths, thousands upon thousands of them, stamped out in a moment of uncontrolled power and lightning. It was her. She killed them.

Who were they, she wonders. Will anyone miss them? Who?

The journey to the X-wing takes frustratingly, dangerously long, each second one closer to Ben’s life force extinguishing completely. _Hold on, Ben. This planet is no place to die,_ she thinks, mostly to him and a little to herself. This planet reeks of decay, rotten to it’s core with darkness, and Rey will not allow herself to succumb to it. 

By the time they arrive at the ship, Rey’s vision is swimming, every inch of her body burning with extortion. She sways, but catches herself on the side of the cold ship with her left hand. The pain that jolts up her arm is enough to keep her awake. 

The battered old X-wing is cramped enough with just a pilot, but Rey squeezes them both in as best she can, ignoring the sharp pain now shooting through her shoulder and the fact that her broken ribs are making it difficult to draw in breath.

Ben’s life force flickers again, as Rey brings the ship to life, flipping switches with the deftness of any practiced pilot. Under her breath she is muttering, “ _Come on, come on, come on.”_ Lightning continues to illuminate the ashen sky outside, revealing the remains of the Sith fleet now a graveyard of splintered pieces and a reminder of a tragedy that Almost Was. If the sheer feat of staying awake hadn’t been using up all the energy she had left, Rey might’ve laughed with pride. Instead, she feels only relief and the sharp clarity of needing to get away as soon as possible.

Ben, who had been dumped rather unceremoniously into the space behind the pilot seat, doesn’t stir as the ship takes off, heading for the upper atmosphere. Rey breathes deeply as she can, eyes trained unwavering on the stars as the two force-users leave the husk that is Exegon behind them.

  
  


Rey has never been more grateful to see green in her life than she is as she lands on Ajan Kloss. Head pounding, she lowers the ship to the ground before tearing off her helmet and stumbling out into the fresh, humid air. Around her, celebration seems to have sunk into the planet itself, shining down in the warmth of the sun, and glowing through the cheerful foliage of the trees that spread out above the injured, dirty, ragtag group of rebels, who laugh and shout in jubilation, “We won! We did it! We won!”

Someone slaps Rey on the shoulder, “We did it, Rey!” and she grunts in pain, trying to smile back at the woman. “Where’s…” she starts to ask, but then pauses. Who can Rey ask for? Will her friends understand? Will they be willing to help?

Then it matters no longer, because Finn meets her eye from across the crowd and he grabs Po’s arm and they are running to her, kicking up soft dirt in their wake, their arms around her before she can get out a greeting.

“You’re okay! You made it, we did it, we won, Rey—”

She can’t help but smile. “Palpatine is dead,” she tells them, and Poe whoops, throwing a fist in the air.

“That’s great! I’m so glad you’re…” He blinks. “...Are you okay?” His eyes are all over her, taking in the way she is standing, weight on her right foot, hunched forward, left arm dangling.

She shakes her head.

“Come on, let’s get you to the medics, they can have you fixed up in no time—”

“I can’t.”

“What?” Finn is confused, and Rey glances over her shoulder at the X-wing. Poe notices, following her gaze, brow furrowing. He gets it, somehow, before Rey can say a word. 

“Finn, get Maz,” He says, already pushing past Rey, towards the ship, eyes dark. Rey grabs his jacket, wincing. “Po, listen to me. Po—You have to listen! He isn’t—he saved me. He saved my life. He won’t…” She struggles for the words. 

Poe stares at her for a second, weighing the odds, maybe, then nods stiffly. “I won’t hurt him unless he tries something. I owe Leia that much.” He looks out over celebrating crowd. “You know that he can’t stay here, though.”

“What’s going on? Who? What are you guys talking about?” Finn is looking between them, oblivious, and Rey shrugs again. 

“Yo. Co-General. Go get Maz. And maybe Lando, while you’re at it. Rey’s explanation can wait.”

Finn’s shoulder’s drop and he nods, still confused but grasping the gravity of the situation. He’s disappeared in a second. Rey watches him go before turning back to Po, who is climbing up into the cockpit of the X-wing. He winces. “Shit, Rey. He doesn’t look to good.” He surveys Ben again. “Are you sure that he’s…?”

Rey nods quickly, throat tight. She can’t remember the last time she felt so helpless. She’s tapping her good foot up and down, gnawing on her lip, ignoring the pin prick feeling behind her eyes. There isn’t much time left.

The two of them stew in uncomfortable silence, each unable to participate in the jubilation around them, worrying about the same person for different reasons. Finn returns in moments, trailed by Maz, Lando, and Chewbacca.

Maz speaks first. “Where is he?”

Rey knows better than to question how the elderly woman knows, but Finn throws his hands up. “How does everyone know what’s going on right now?”

“ _I_ don’t,” Lando says, and Chewie roars in agreement.

Rey looks at Po, hoping he’ll save her from an explanation, but he raises at eyebrow at her. _This is your mess._

She sighs, no strength left to argue, gesturing to the X-wing. “Ben Solo saved my life and now I am saving his.” ‘Saving her life’ didn’t cover it, not even close, but time was of the essence. The pain and exhaustion that were beginning to catch up to her, and there was no way she could retell the whole story now. 

Finn did not take the news nearly as well as Poe had. “Are you kriffing serious, Rey? You brought him _here?_ He’s—” He mouths a name that isn’t Ben’s any longer and Rey’s eyes burn. Finn notices, but it doesn’t stop him. “There isn’t a single resistance fighter that wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they had the chance! He’s killed people, Rey! Hundreds, probably thousands of people! He was _working_ with _Palapatine._ ” Finn’s voice has risen well above a whisper, but luckily, none of the nearby resistance members spare him anything more than a glance.   
  


Lando looks a little stunned, but Chewie roars something angrily. 

Rey’s hand itches for the light saber down at her hip as she bites back a million scathing retorts. She will not let anything more happen her Ben. Then she breathes. Now is not the time.

“He needs a bacta tank and probably a meddroid.” Her voice is unwavering, but when she takes a step towards the ship, towards Ben, the world spins and her stomach rolls.

Finn is beside her, holding her in an instant. “Looks like you need one too.” His voice is gentle, he doesn’t want to spook her, and he gives Poe a pointed _we’ll-discuss-this-after_ look. 

“Finn.” Rey doesn’t think she’ll be able to hold on much longer. The urgency she had, to get Ben off of Exegon, to get him to safety, to get him _help_ , is fading quick. “You need to make sure he is okay. He—” she winces, breath hissing from between her teeth. “He _has_ to be okay. I cannot lose him, do you understand? _I_ _cannot lose him._ ”

She meets his eyes, and for a beat, he is frozen. She thinks, fears, he won’t agree and she won’t be awake to do anything about it, but then his face softens. It’s more of a grimace than a smile, but it’s earnest. “I promise, Rey, I will do my best to keep,” name seems to throw him but he continues, “Ben Solo, alive. But, we’re going to have to have a long talk later, okay? You’d better have a good kriffing explanation for all this!”

A smile crosses her face. “Deal. And I do.” And then she’s gone.


End file.
